Godzilla Minus Zero stormed to the top of the North American box office in its opening weekend, collecting $14.5 million on Friday, including Thursday previews, on its way to an estimated $32 million debut. Released by GKids and Toho into 3,254 theaters, the sequel easily outpaced a crowded frame that also featured the debuts of The Cat in the Hat, Ramayana, Wild Horse Nine and Club Kid.
The launch is being billed as the biggest opening for a live-action foreign-language film since Hero debuted with $17.8 million in 2004. The overall mark for a foreign-language debut still belongs to the animated Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, which bowed to $70.6 million last year, while The Passion of the Christ and its $83.8 million start in 2004 is excluded from the category as an American-produced project.
Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, the follow-up to 2023's Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One earned an A CinemaScore from audiences and is performing well above the distributor's projection of an opening in the mid-$20 millions. Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe and Min Tanaka star in the film, which carries a reported budget in the mid-teens and follows postwar Japan as it confronts attacks from the three-headed Ghidorah and the possibility of Godzilla's return.
Critics have embraced the sequel, which holds a 90 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Hollywood Reporter's chief film critic David Rooney called it a "thrilling jolt of marauding monster action." The film is building an even larger footprint than its predecessor, which opened in December 2023 with $11.4 million domestically before finishing with $57.1 million in North America and $56.9 million internationally, and went on to become Japan's first feature to win the Academy Award for best visual effects.
In second place, Warner Bros.' The Cat in the Hat took in $6 million from 4,003 locations on Friday, including Thursday previews, and is tracking toward an opening of about $18 million. The studio had projected a $20 million start for the $92 million production, which also earned an A CinemaScore, and is counting on word of mouth to carry it through the Thanksgiving holiday and into December.
Directed by Erica Rivinoja and Alessandro Carloni, the animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss' classic 1957 children's book follows the title feline as he is given one final chance to prove his worth by helping a pair of siblings. Bill Hader leads a voice cast that includes Matt Berry, Quinta Brunson and Xochitl Gomez. The release is the first title from Warner Bros. Pictures Animation since Bill Damaschke took over as president and chief creative officer in 2023.
Reviewers have been cooler on the film, which sits at 45 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. THR critic Frank Scheck described it as "more taxing than enjoyable." Even so, it is faring far better with critics than Universal's 2003 live-action The Cat in the Hat starring Mike Myers, which holds an 11 score on Rotten Tomatoes. That film opened to $38.3 million domestically and finished with $101 million in North America against a $109 million budget.
